Even with Black Friday sales starting early, shoppers still go after the deals

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) -

Some stores chose to open at 8 or 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving day, while others waited until midnight.

But even with the earlier hours, shoppers still chose to line up.

"We had a bigger crowd this year than we've had in the past, you can have all kinds of theories on why that might be," said Kohl's Manager David Bortner. "Big, big crowd, well mannered, great, just actually having a good time, out doing the Thanksgiving tradition."

Bortner said more than 1,000 people lined up at Kohl's for the doors to open at midnight.

"You save a lot of money if you're willing to give up the time and sleep," said Constance Anderson.

"You've got to get up early, but I like it," said Melissa Harris. "It's fun to see who you run into."

"People lined up all the way around the building, all the way from the whole front sidewalk all the way down around Logan's," said John Abernathy, a manager at Best Buy.

Bortner said not everyone was out for the deals, some just wanted to keep a holiday tradition.

"I don't think there was really one specific thing, like I said I think it's more of a tradition, they were just out having a good time," said Bortner. "I asked are you guys looking for anything in particular, they said no, it's just fun."

Some shoppers were out to find the big sales on toys. For some, they say Black Friday helps make holiday gifts affordable.

"I like Black Friday because I've gotten really good deals, last night and this morning, normally those things would have been 20 to 30 dollars, and I got what I wanted for ten dollars," said Melissa Harris.

"Especially when you're looking at big ticket items, like computers, TVs, laptops, things like that, yes it does make it affordable," said Constance Anderson.

Other people just want the electronics.

"We've done really well with gaming systems, we've done really well with TVs," said Abernathy.

Everyone seemed to notice big crowds at the opening hours, and early morning hours, but by 7am, it calmed down significantly.